SO just what the heck?s going on in local cricket!

With the country now just months away from appearing in a first-ever World Cup final, the sport continues to stutter from one controversy to another.

George O?Brien, potentially the Island?s most destructive bowler, is booted out of the squad for ?lack of commitment?; the brutally hard-hitting Lionel Cann, a match-winner in one-day cricket if ever we had one, is hauled before Bermuda Cricket Board to explain ?discrepancies? in his compensation pay; and wrangling over player contracts remains a major distraction.

It?s hardly the settled environment that coach Gus Logie requires as he attempts to apply the finishing touches to what has already been a long and arduous preparation campaign.

In just over a week the players will head out to Africa for a five-week tour which should offer some indication of how they might perform when the big event comes around next March. Most of our leading players are available, the influential Clay Smith is returning to fitness and English county player David Hemp should add much-needed stability to the top of the order when he makes his debut.

But one wonders how the players can expect to concentrate solely on the game when there remain so many issues unresolved.

The Board?s executive, whether they like it or not, have to be held accountable.

In order for Bermuda to put up a respectable performance at the World Cup, it?s imperative that what they do off the field is just as effective as what the players do on it.

And it would be nice if once in a while they were open with the public over these points of contention rather than operating like a secret society.

Officials from the Board refuse to return phone calls, press releases are few and far between, and when statements are made they are usually no more than a sentence in length, revealing little of significance.

What the Board need to understand is that it?s public money that?s funding the sport and it?s totally unacceptable for their executives to tell the public that ?matters relating to players? contracts and payments to players are internal to the BCB and are between the BCB and its players? as they did on Wednesday of this week.

The public have a right to know.

Of course, some of the issues aren?t of their making.

If O?Brien couldn?t get excited about appearing on cricket?s biggest stage, it?s difficult to understand what might have motivated him.

Young players in other countries with far more talent than Big George would have given their right arm for a similar opportunity.

That the St.David?s paceman chose not to grasp it tells us all we need to know, and it seems the BCB were left with little choice but to remove him from the squad.

Similarly, if the Board felt they were being ?cheated? by Cann?s claims for compensation, they had no alternative to investigate the matter.

However, they are now duty bound to make an announcement as soon as possible to either exonerate the player of all allegations, or alternatively confirm his guilt.

By shutting up shop and refusing to comment yesterday ? an all too familiar BCB ploy ? they were in effect hanging Cann out to dry.

Meanwhile, the impasse over player contracts, the issue which appears to be causing more turmoil than any other, involving as it does not just certain individuals but the entire squad, should have been settled long before now.

No excuses.

Reportedly at the root of the problem is the fact that some players are being offered more than others depending on the salary they would have earned in their normal full-time jobs. What they are receiving, in effect, is compensation for the salaries that they would have earned were they still working full-time.

That alone is a recipe for disaster.

As long as the players are representing the same team, they need to treated equally, regardless of how much they earned in their previous employment. And if that means they all receive the same compensation as all-rounder Saleem Mukuddem, who happens to be a well-paid chartered accountant, then so be it.

Government pumped eleven million dollars into cricket development in order to ensure that our preparation for the World Cup ran smoothly. We shouldn?t now be quibbling over money.

Give the players a fair and equitable deal and let them get on with what they do best.

It would be a crying shame if the final build-up to what promises to be the greatest event in Bermuda?s sporting history was derailed for the sake of a few thousand dollars ? cash out of our pockets that many believe the BCB can well afford.